2023 - 50 BOOK CHALLENGE

Book 42. The Three Crowns by Georgette Heyer

Tells the story of Mary, daughter of Charles II, and the lead up to the Glorious Revolution. Heyer was famous for the amount of research she did and reading her historical novels is a very enjoyable way of learning history.

54-Katie Flynn-The Runaway. Dana is escaping from her life in Ireland to Liverpool where she wants to make her fortune. Set just before WW2 we find more about her background and friends she makes along the way. A bit slow to get going but an interesting read.

teabagwoman

Book 42. The Three Crowns by Georgette Heyer

Tells the story of Mary, daughter of Charles II, and the lead up to the Glorious Revolution. Heyer was famous for the amount of research she did and reading her historical novels is a very enjoyable way of learning history.

Ooh I have been a fan of Georgette Heyer for over 50 years and have somehow missed this one. I must try to find it, thank you 😃.

I read all the Georgette Heyer books in my teens, keep saying I`m going to read them again, but haven`t got round to it yet.
I was a bit unsure about Falls the Shadow at first, but ended up really enjoying it. Just starting book 84, After the Silence, by Jake Woodhouse.

#46 was An Untidy Death by Simon Brett, which was a pleasant, cosy mystery. Not his best but entertaining enough nevertheless.

A book that’s stayed with me Still Life by Sarah Winman . So many great characters and it’s set mainly in Sicily .

#35 Watching From The Wings Christine Webber.
This author specialises in writing romantic (and in places quite steamy) novels for and about women in their fifties, sixties and beyond. This one is about a talented young actress who gives up her own career and for forty years supports that of her vain, selfish husband. I quite enjoyed it.

#34. The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie.

55-Phillipa Ashley- Spring in the Little Cornish Isles- A delightful story about a family business, growing flowers in the Scilly Isles . An insight in what hard work it is, but also how friendships can blossom- if you'll excuse the pun. An ideal summertime romance.

I really enjoyed After the Silence, haven`t come across Jake Woodhouse before.
Have just started book 85, Condition Black, by Gerald Seymour, set around 1990 during the Iraqi conflict.

#97? Casting Off by Libby Purves. Charming, amusing and so true...

I have also just finished "The Corporal's Wife" involving Iran and the so-called 'weapons of mass destruction'. Difficult read, but giving a good idea of the byzantine workings of M16.

Book 28
Birdcage Walk - Helen Dunmore
Set in Bristol at the time of the French Revolution,
Lizzies mother and stepfather are radicals, and are disappointed that she has married a property developer, determined to build a terrace of fine houses above the Clifton Gorge.
But the times they live in make the realisation of Diners dreams impossible, and gradually the marriage sinks into poverty and fear, the shadow of his dead wife, and his suspicions of his second wife push Diner to the edge.
But there is a lot of warmth in this novel, some very likeable characters, and some strong bonds of friendship.
Not quite living up to the reviews, but nevertheless, a good read.

37 Bleeding Heart Yard - Ellie Griffiths

Murder at a school reunion, where 20 years on a small group of ex pupils ponder on whether there was a connection between the latest killing and that of the late pupil who was pushed on to a railway line, before they departed into their future lives, for reasons known to their small circle. I enjoyed the plot but often contrast the rather dull central character, Harbinder Kaur, of this fairly new series by Ellie Griffiths with that of Ruth Galloway and the way she portrayed her in those books, so many of us found her life and its many facets almost as interesting as the plot, sometimes more so. Maybe as the series progresses Harbinder's personal life will become a bit more eventful, or possibly EL has switched the focus on to the crime/s at the heart of these new novels rather than the sub plot of complicated relationships. Good read though, much better than the period ones she has written set in Brighton in the 50s, not keen on those at all.

Sara1954 I enjoyed Birdcage Walk as I live between Bristol and Bath so could easily picture the locations.

I've just finished Book 50 - a non-fiction book about M.E. (which I have) called The Lady's Handbook for her Mysterious Illness by Sarah Ramey. It's very American with a number of references to foods/meds/medical procedures that I know nothing about, and I didn't learn anything. It would be a helpful book if someone is new to a diagnosis of M.E. but I've had it for 34 years. I probably would have abandoned the book if I'd had anything else to read but a trip to the library is due to collect my next batch.

Condition Black turned out better than I thought it was going to be. Just about to start book 86, Archangel, by Gerald Seymour.

56-Susan Lewis-Silent Truths. 726pages that could have been condensed I'm sure. A complex story of a writer whose husband is accused of murdering one of his lovers, but behind it all there is a financial plan to wreck the European economy. I found I was scanning over the page to pick out relevant points because I wanted to get to the 'whodunnit' bit.

#35. Standing In The Shadows by Peter Robinson.

Have had this on order from the library for months. Am really looking forward to reading it, the last Alan Banks crime novel, as the author died sadly in 2022.

Think I am the first to be reading it, as it appears to have been issued just days ago.

Love a new book.

Archangel was a good story, but a real bundle of misery! I`ve just started book 87, Rat Run, another by Gerald Seymour.

Book 30
Do not Disturb - Claire Douglas

Following a nervous breakdown, Adrian and his wife and children decide to leave London behind, and buy a derelict house in Wales, with the plan of opening a guest house. They are co owners with Kirtys mother, and why anyone would think that was a good idea I can’t imagine.
Anyway, before you know it, kirstys long estranged cousin, Selena turns up with her daughter, followed by her brother and his wife, who have their own problems.
Someone is murdered, so someone, paying guest or family is a killer.
It’s a good read, but I thought the ending was really weak, I also thought it was unacceptable, at the end of a novel I like a tidy ending, this was anything but.

#36 A Catalogue Of Catastrophe Jodi Taylor.
Number 13 in the St Mary's Chronicles. I read it last year but I wanted to reacquaint myself as number 14 is recently published. I love this series about an historical society who "investigate historical events in contemporary time", time travel!

Book 31
Lucy by the Sea - Elizabeth Strout
By far my favourite book of the year so far.
The title makes it sound like Lucy is off on her holidays, but this is not so.
William takes her to Maine to escape the pandemic in New York. It is a sweet, thoughtful story about their lives there, written as always, so simply and yet so poignantly.
Can’t recommend highly enough.

#47 was The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths. I had somehow managed to miss this Ruth Galloway book but thoroughly enjoyed it when I found it. This series has been fantastic.

Book 88 is Wrong Place, Wrong Time, by Gillian McAllister. A woman sees her 18 year old son stab someone to deth in the street. After a sleep, she wakes up the day before it happens, and keeps going backwards. Confusing at times.

Just finished ‘Standing In The Shadows’, the last Alan Banks crime novel. Spoiler alert, I divulge some of the story.

A bit disappointed, tbh. The story veered between linked crimes, nearly 40 years apart, the early years were narrated in the first person and the remainder was the usual, in the present day.

There was very little of Alan Banks’ personal life in this book, which makes it somewhat different to all the others. And it’s the last, as the author, Peter Robinson, has now died.

We shall never know if Alan decides to retire, whether he finally finds happiness with someone….